Climate change information in Taiwan is summarized according to the "Climate Change in Taiwan 2017: Scientific Report - The Physical Science Basis", published by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Temperature

Surface temperature in Taiwan has been increasing for 100 Years

Compared with the average temperature during 1986-2005, the temperature in Taiwan at the end of 21st century (2081-2100) in RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios may increase by 1.3°C to 1.8°C or 3.0°C to 3.6°C respectively.

Temperature Record from in Taiwan 1900 to 2017

 

The Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), which are used for making projections based on these factors, describe four different 21st- century pathways of GHG emissions and atmospheric concentrations, air pollutant emissions, and land use.

∙      RCP4.5: One intermediate stabilization pathway in which radiative forcing is stabilized at approximately 4.5 W/m2 after 2100.

∙      RCP8.5: One high pathway for which radiative forcing reaches >8.5 W/m2 by 2100 and continues to rise for some amount of time.


(Source: IPCC AR5, 2014)

 

Seasons in Taiwan have changed significantly.

According to statistics from 1957 to 2006, summer in Taiwan has increased by 27.8 days, but winter has decreased by 29.7 days. It shows that summer has become longer and winter has become shorter.

Sea level in Taiwan has been rising in the past few decades.

From 1961 to 2003, the sea level in Taiwan has risen by an average of 2.4 mm per year, and from 1994 to 2013, has risen by an average of 3.4 mm per year.

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Precipitation

The dry and wet seasons have become more distinct.

The number of extremely heavy rain days has increased slightly, yet the change in total rainfall has not been obvious. And the number of light rain days has decreased significantly.

Precipitation records in Taiwan: (a)Annual Precipitation in Taiwan (b) Taiwan Rainfall Index (c)Number of Heavy Rain Days (d) Number of Light Rain Days

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Extreme Weather Events

Increased frequency of extreme high temperatures in Taiwan

According to the data from 1911 to 2017, as the average temperature in Taiwan has risen, the number of warm days has increased yet the number of cold days has decreased.

The number of extreme rainfall days has increased

The increase of both heavy rain days and no rain days indicates the probability of increasing flood or drought in the future.

The proportion of severe typhoons increases

The proportion of severe typhoons and the intensity of average rainfall has increased due to increasing sea surface temperature.